Entries Tagged 'Opinion' ↓

The following article was originally published in the Herald Sun today. It is written as a response to the recent intervention of the Australian government to prevent two Muslim scholars from attending an Islamic conference this weekend.

THE Federal Government has decided to ban Canadian Muslim cleric Sheik Bilal Philips from entering Australia to attend a conference.

Dr Philips has not been charged with any crime, but does, it seems, have ideas that the Government and probably many Australians consider objectionable.

Therefore he is deemed a security risk and has been denied a visa.

In the absence of any stated proof as to involvement in terrorism or criminality, the Government appears to be banning Dr Philips on the basis of ideas the Government thinks he holds, not his actions.

However, let us assume the man is an extremist of some description and his ideas are indeed offensive. Is that really an argument to ban him?

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This is the first in a special series of guest posts by Sindbad of Islamophobia Watcher. Sindbad will be analysing the 2004 Nixon Center’s report, Understanding Sufism and its Potential Role in US Policy [pdf].

Note: This piece has NOTHING to do with the experience of Sufis or Sufism, and so I’ve put the word ‘Sufism’ in single inverted commas. I understand the Sufi Muslim Council as a lobbying group more than money-grubbing, money of course is guaranteed though I feel there‘s a real ideological filament burning somewhere.

I shall break this piece into several structures, because it’ll be easier for you to understand and for me to write. I’ll first begin on a corrective note to humanize the dehumanized in this report i.e. the Salafis. I want to firmly state that ‘Wahhabism’ is a corruption of the term ‘Salafism’. There are many who argue (like Shaykh Kabbani) that ‘Wahabbism’ is an appropriate term, but it must be really a joke like the one about ‘Mohammedanism’ a more appropriate term for Islam from an antagonistic non-Muslim perspective?

Another issue that I must raise is the distinction between Wahhabis and Salafis. There is no such term as Salafi in Islam. This term can only be applied for the first three centuries of Islam, called a-Salafu-saleh.

Let’s all call our opponents names to ridicule them and we’ll all get together swell. But nobody call us names. We are sacred. We are right. You and yours are wrong. We decide for you but you aren’t allowed to decide for us. The truth is that everybody has the right to decide for themselves what they ought to be called. If the Salafis say they are Salafis and ’Wahabbism’ is a denigrating term, I support them because they have a right like everybody else. If we should indeed abide by demands of condition, I doubt Shaykh Kabbani would be a Sufi in one sense of the word as he doesn’t wear wool.

I’ll take up half the speakers in this part and half in the second part. In the third part insha’Allah I’ll discuss this report in its advancement of foreign policy.

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Mainstream media has recently covered the ‘burqini’ phenomenon, extolling its virtues and gushing over the lifesavers who are adopting its use in what is, unashamedly, a PR exercise to dim the Anglo face of beach culture. For those living under a rock, the burqini is a “Muslim-friendly” swimsuit for women, which apparently covers the body without being clingy and shape-revealing.

The reactions to the burqini are, not surprisingly, quite mixed amongst Muslims.There is no doubt that the maker of these suits has done Muslim women a service by providing them with swimming attire that does not compromise their modesty, as even among women, there are certain standards of modesty that should be observed. Perhaps it may even be viewed as a suitable alternative for those not adhering strictly to Muslim dress; it could be seen as better than, say, a one-piece or a bikini.

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A brother once told me “Islamic knowledge is the most important thing one will ever receive, more precious even than the food one eats, so think carefully from whom you take it.”

The most overused and abused term in the contemporary Australian Muslim vernacular is Sheikh, in its broadest meaning it means an elder who possess wisdom, but in the most correct classical usage a sheikh is a religious scholar of the sacred sciences, from Quranic exegesis to medicine and beyond. In the secular world its meaning is confined to the sacred religious sciences.

After reading mainstream Australian media I am surprised to find that “Sheikhs” are everywhere, and everywhere absurd. All the while, they dishonour the title they have awarded themselves. They shame themselves but more importantly they shame our teacher the Prophet of Allah, Muhammad (pbuh).

Several religious personalities have awarded themselves the title of Sheikh unilaterally; others have merely falsified their qualifications. These “pseudo sheiklets” can be seen duking it out on chatrooms and Islamic forums, WWF style. Still others acquire the mannerisms and feign the gravitas of true scholars without ever learning the humility.

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British psychologist and author Oliver James has undertaken an eight-country “mind tour”, assessing each of them for the level of ‘affluenza’ permeating within, the results of which are documented in his now released book, Affluenza.

The subjects of James’s examination include Australia, Britain, the US, Russia, Denmark, China and Singapore. But of all the places he visited, it was Sydney, claims James, that is the most struck by the virus, which is essentially a measure of the impact of consumerism on self-worth and mental wellbeing. Sydneysiders, he argues, live in the most “vacuous of cities“, determining that it is a city obsessed with perfection: the ideal body, wealth, property and all that modern capitalism involves. Adelaide and Melbourne, on the other hand, aren’t as materialistic.

Brigid Delaney’s treatment of the book offers a good summary of the content, citing examples of James’s studies - specifically, people he interviewed for the purposes of research.

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Many many years ago when I was a child, our family was on the same flight as The Pakistani cricket captain and matinée idol Imran Khan. The air hostesses were swooning over him in his business class seat. Where we were in steerage we had a clear view of proceedings. All of the children in our family were gradually becoming incensed at the behavior, but mostly we were very annoyed by the gormless performance of his cricket team. In true Lord of the Flies tradition (as children do) we bullied our youngest sister to go up and read the riot act to him, she was all of 7 years of age. When she finally arrived at his seat (after much cajoling) she stood rooted to the spot, unable to speak and staring blankly ahead. He (presumably in a jet lagged haze) signed a napkin and abruptly invited her to be on her way. She returned, mortified and humiliated.

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